Paver systems are frequently used in landscaping and outdoor construction. Construction pavers are widely used today in residential, commercial, and municipal applications that include walkways, patios, parking lots, and streets. Stone and brick provide an historical aesthetic value but are expensive and not suitable for some applications. In most cases, these pavers are made from a cementitious mix (i.e., concrete) or clay and are traditionally extruded or molded into various shapes. These are heavy and can be difficult to install, due both to weight and geometrical configuration.
Although cementitious pavers are widely used throughout the construction industry, the materials prevent cost effective, mass production of complex shapes. Because of the constraints of the materials and corresponding manufacturing process, the most typical shapes include simple rectangular or octagon blocks with little aesthetic value and limited variability. Further, finely detailed features and precision dimensions cannot efficiently be formed on such blocks. In addition, their weight and typical designs deter efficient installation. The typical manner of installing cementitious or clay pavers is labor intensive, time consuming, and generally includes substantial overhead equipment costs. The simple shapes of cementitious or clay pavers limit their installation to an intensive manual process. Thus, the costs for cementitious paver systems are high and include high manual labor costs.
Further, the weight of the cementitious or clay pavers causes the pavers to be inefficient to transport. Trucks are “underloaded,” due to reaching weight restrictions before volume restrictions, thereby inflating transportation costs. Additionally, trucks or other transport devices loaded with cementitious or clay pavers are heavy and may not be driven over soft surfaces, such as a yard, without risk of deforming the surface.
The inherent nature of the cementitious and clay pavers results in high installation and transportation costs. These costs contribute to restricting the manufacturing process to be ‘simple’ and inexpensive to be cost effective on a total installed cost basis as compared to concrete or asphalt alternatives. Thus, in general, the entire cementitious paver process is in a cycle that deters the evolution of the product.
For many residential and commercial construction applications, it would be desirable to have the aesthetic value that concrete, brick, or clay pavers offer without the substantial logistic, overhead, and labor implications inherent with these systems. In addition, it would be desirable to have products for walkway/driveway/parking lot systems that promote environmental stewardship, are environmentally friendly, and enhance safety.